D.A. will investigate Newport closed session

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- The district attorney’s office will investigate

whether city officials violated state open meeting rules when they

decided in closed session to hire lobbyists to fight for extended

restrictions at John Wayne Airport, a spokeswoman said.

City officials, however, say the decision was within the letter and

spirit of state guidelines that guarantee public access to their

representatives’ decision making.

Responding to recent charges that the city was out of line when it

approved $455,000 worth of contracts with two lobbyists, City Atty. Bob

Burnham said that the matter belonged in closed session because it

relates directly to pending litigation.

The lobbyists’ job is to fight locally and in Washington D.C. to

extend the John Wayne Airport Settlement Agreement, he said. The 1985

agreement was the result of a lawsuit between the city and the county

over airport expansion. The agreement, which sets limits on the number of

passengers, gates and noisiest flights, is scheduled to expire on Dec.

31, 2005.

“Our No. 1 political priority for this year is extension of the

settlement agreement termination date from 2005 to 2015,” said Mayor Tod

Ridgeway. “That’s a huge priority to us.”

State open meeting laws say that most large contracts awarded by

cities must be decided in a public forum. But elected officials can

discuss “pending litigation” in closed-door sessions. Because the city’s

decision to hire the lobbyists potentially falls under both categories,

it’s unclear which rule applies.

City officials, though, say the case is perfectly clear.

“The settlement agreement is pending litigation,” Ridgeway said.

Burnham agreed: “I believe it is,” he said.

Ultimately, it will be the district attorney who decides where to draw

the line.

The contracts were approved in recent months with California

Strategies and the Washington lobbying firm of William D. Lowery.

In October, the City Council voted in public session to spend at least

$350,000 to hire the Cordia Cos. and Citizens for Jobs and the Economy to

advocate in Washington on the city’s behalf to get the settlement

agreement extended.

“We think the battle over the airport is going to be fought in

Washington,” Councilman Steven Bromberg predicted in October.

Burnham, though, said the more recent lobbyist contracts deal with,

among other things, some legally sensitive aspects of the environmental

impact report for John Wayne Airport and the Air Transport Assn. America

Inc.’s position that the report was flawed. City officials fear this

means the association could sue to overturn restrictions at the airport.

Burnham and Ridgeway declined to reveal details of the closed session

talks.

* June Casagrande covers Newport Beach. She may be reached at (949)

574-4232 or by e-mail at o7 june.casagrande@latimes.comf7 .